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Rakashian Consulate
The Rakashian Consulate is a nation-state in the Known Galaxy comprised of the dominant inhabitants of the planet Ras Utiku, the Rakasha species. The Consulate was born from a period of internal conflict among the Rakasha, during which the Consulate was driven off Ras Utiku and forced to retreat to Ras Abiza during the First Rakasha Civil War. A second war brought the Rakasha Consulate to the brink before their enemy was felled by an alien power, which itself disappeared for unknown reasons. After reclaiming their world of origin the Rakasha left their solar system only to engage in a disastrous war with the Sirian Union. The war became a factor in the creation of the Galactic Nations, which the Rakasha Consulate soon joined. Etymology History Pre-Space Age Documentation of Rakasha history prior to the First Civil War has been lost but it is believed that the Rakasha had been space-faring before the civil wars, as found within tunnels in Ras Orkto, prior to the initial colonization. Within these tunnels, numerous illustrations show a people of similar appearance to the Rakashians dragging many others in chains. This supports the hypothesis that the Rakasha once practiced slavery of both their own race and others. Civil Wars After capturing their first planet, the Rakasha faced a massive civil war known as the First Civil War that ended up with the rebels, led by the High Priest Rrrreti who had proclaimed himself Rrrrrrivar in Rakashian form capturing their home planet of Ras Utiku. Forced to now live on their newly conquered planet of Ras Abiza, the Rakasha dug through the planet to build their cities. Feeling a burning desire to grow again so that they could return home, the Rakasha capture the predominantly swamp planet of Ras Orkto from a now nameless reptilian civilization. A few years after settling in to Ras Orkto, the Rakasha of Ras Utiku (calling themselves the Rrakasha in a sign of egotism), attempted to take the planet, resulting in the Second Civil War. No planets changed hands during this conflict, with both sides drawing back to their own planets, but with the Rrakasha with the upper hand. As the Rrakasha prepared to go to war with the Rakasha while they still had the upper hand, a devastating plague broke out seemingly simultaneously on Ras Utiku, causing the numbers to dive down to 10% of their original population. This would be called the Plague of the Prideful. Shortly afterwards, a humanoid species that potentially came from outside the Ras solar system claimed Ras Utiku as their own, killing off the remaining Rrakashians. Early Interstellar A few decades later, after claiming the final unclaimed planets of the solar system, Ras Oq'ito and Ras Eyrire, the Rakasha sent fleets back to lay claim to their old home world. What they found was a planet without sentient life. Whether this meant the humanoid invaders had been pirates or if they had fell to the plague as well is unknown. However, some of their technology remained and with it the Rakasha finally were able to leave their own solar system. This was a time of pride and sorrow for the Rakasha, as shortly after leaving their own system, they encountered the Sirian Union. After a brief attempt at diplomacy, the Rakasha declared war on their strange new acquaintance. The war was quick and brutal and the Rakashian war fleet was turned to space dust. This short war, known as the Horrid Humbling, caused the Rakasha to withdraw back into their home system. From this point forward, their interactions with other space-faring civilizations was done through scout and diplomat ships. Contemporary The Rakashian Consulate became a member of the Galactic Nations in 3534. Government While formerly a form of monarchy, the Rakasha are now controlled by the Council of Claws. Seated among the council is the Revered Magister of each city-world, the Revered CEO of each harvest-world, the Revered High Priest of Rrrrrrivar, the Revered Spymaster of Ras Orkto, the Revered Warlord-General of the Rakashian armies, and the Revered High Master of Peace. Currently, the Revered High Master of Peace, Rrrriskith, is considered the head of the council. As such, it is her duty to put laws up for discussion and must hear out the other members in their discussions and suggestions. There are two main kinds of planets owned/operated by the Rakasha: resource planets and home planets. Each of these operates differently. On resource planets, a CEO controls the company that harvests the resources of the planet. As such, they are responsible for the payment of workers and all their living requirements, the upkeep of the equipment, and multitudes of other tasks both on and off the planet, as long as it relates to their products. CE Os rarely live on these planets, usually operating from a home planet. Workers live there as the housing is free for them and commuting to and from work is a tad more difficult when they are on different planets. On home planets, the planet Magister oversees. Only a single Magister is required due to the fact that Rakasha prefer to live underground and rarely make more than two or three underground cities per planet. Of course, they have a council, each of which is specialized in an aspect of running the planet, so that the Magister is not overloaded with duties. Home planets are expensive to live on so most Rakashians find themselves either related to an important figure and thus live a lucrative lifestyle, spend their lives working on a resource planet, somehow escape the poor life by becoming accomplished at some important technical skill such as diplomacy or stewardship, or find themselves sent to Ras Orkto. The exception to the home/resource planet classification is Ras Orkto, which is controlled by the Spymaster, who uses the planet to train recruits in the dangerous swamp planet. Foreign Relations Economy Due to the Rakasha's new outlook as a peaceful people, they are heavily involved with trade. Due to their quick ability to learn, they make skilled traders and diplomats by learning new languages in a rather short amount of time. With a taste for harvesting resources, especially ones that are hard to come by outside of their system, the Rakasha take pride in merchantism. However, they traffic in more than just chemicals and ores; Rakashian spies are skilled and respected. They are often sold to other civilizations who wish to learn more about enemies in a high-risk area that they would rather keep their own men away from. They never speak and are as silent as the wind on a still night. They also serve as couriers and other jobs that involve obtaining or passing along information. What isn't known outside of the Rakasha is that Rakashian spies are also extremely skilled assassins who fight using rightning gloves, poisons, daggers, and their wits. They do not kill for anyone except the Spymaster of Ras Orkto and do the killings in secret. Military After the Horrid Humbling, the Rakasha have turned away from military pursuits almost entirely. All their military power remains on their own planets or in the area around, as a defensive measure. Space Fleet The Rakasha favour large spaceships to defend their planets since they do not require a great deal of propulsion and allows for larger arms and armour. Their main ships are Lightning Claws, large battlecruisers that defend the planets by being armed with lightning cannon batteries. They are designed with very little room for fuel, only enough to complete a circuit of Ras Oq’ito, the largest planet they have to defend. Ras Oq’ito and Ras Abiza each have three stationed while the remaining planets each have two. Aside from unarmed diplomat and trade vessels, that is the entire space fleet. Ground Force The Rakasha do not possess a standing army, instead preferring to have their citizens trained to be disciplined levies, should they need to defend the planet. There is a hierarchy of command that all Rakashians are aware of in case of emergency. The preferred weaponry are rightning rifles with bayonets. The Rakashians have no tanks or other ground based military vehicles at their disposal. Military Technology While not traditional warfare weaponry, rightning gloves are the main weapons of the Rakashian spies. Tight, fingerless gloves that conduct a miniature rightning charge across the knuckles. They are, to date, the sole piece of equipment to use rightning stably. The source of stability is unknown, as the original creation of the gloves dates back to before the First Civil War. It is unknown if it is the materials or certain techniques but the Rakashian have yet to duplicate the successful stabilizing of rightning except with these gloves. If the wearer strikes an organic target with the gloves, the rightning charge quickly shoots through the opponent's nerve system, overloading it with high-level signals. Depending on the fortitude of the opponent, the effects range from losing all feeling in the body for a few hours to unconsciousness to unconsciousness and permanent nerve damage to organ failure. However, these charges are limited and the gloves must be repaired after approximately seven uses. Charges normally last for a dozen but the stability weakens exponentially after seven. Infrastructure Science and Technology The Rakasha are not the most technologically advanced civilization but they are far from the least. A bizarre form of lightning that is found in their weaponry is used to power most of their society. It is sickly green and is an incredibly powerful energy source but is volatile. As such, the Rakasha have quickly learned how to prepare a great deal of safety precautions but will still have a bad explosion every now and again. The lightning is actually a chemical reaction of a group of chemical compounds, usually rare but plentiful in the Ras system. In fact, the discovery of this reaction is both the spark of most of their progress and the most important. While Rakashians have good vision even in darkness, they see easier in light, so their cities and work environments are all brightly lit. In addition, all their weaponry works by releasing the reaction within their weapons at the enemy. There is a lot of transportation made to deliver Rakashians from within the planets but they haven’t successfully found a safe way to power it on “rightning” so they import other forms of fuel from other civilizations. As you may have guessed, this is a recent modification in Rakashian culture. They are capable of long-range communication through comm-links and other devices which run on regular electricity, but these are kept to the rich and powerful. Law Enforcement The Rakasha live rather simply and follow only a few rules. As such, law enforcement is actually based on a volunteer program. Or rather, that’s the claim but the few law enforcement positions are usually given to the sons and daughters of prominent members of Rakashian society, due to an underlying mistrust between the rich and the poor. This is because when the First Civil War broke out, most of the lowborn and poor sided with the High Priest and are often seen as having a major hand in that dark time for the Rakashians. Rakashian police also serve as mid-ranking military officials, keeping them trained and ready should an attack shatter the brief peace the Rakasha have with the outside races. Culture Class and Naming All Rakashians have their name beginning with an R. The number of Rs indicate the position of the citizen on the hierarchy. A single R is a lowborn worker. Two Rs is for an apprentice in a trade such as a spy-in-training or a squiring diplomat. Three Rs, a member of medium level importance like a manager on a resource planet or a council member on a home planet. Four Rs, a member of the Council of Claws. Five Rs used to signify royalty. Finally, six Rs are only used for Rrrrrrivar, the Rakashian god. Those found naming themselves with more Rs than their station indicates are killed, for the hierarchy is sacred even to those without faith. Religion Rakashian religion, known as the Church of Rightning Rrrrrrivar, is the only one that the race worships on any real scale. The High Priest of the Church, currently Rrrrroose, sits on the Council of Claws and serves as the spokesman for the citizens of the Rakasha. Each planet has numerous churches with priests who preach of the Rightning Rrrrrrivar and listen to grievances from the working class. The word of Rightning Rrrrrrivar is one focused on knowledge and wisdom. It discusses how the wonderful lives that the Rakashians have is due to it and how all who die will become one with it. So it is known. Other religions will be met with cold indifference in the Ras system, especially since even the Church of Rightning Rrrrrrivar is beginning to fall out of favour. However, even still, religion is a big part in Rakashian society, even if it is no longer the commanding juggernaut it once was under the Rrakash. Family Marriage is only granted to those in the High Priest's favour. It does not confer any real benefits in Rakasha society except that it is seen as a mark of your wealth and power. Sports and Athletic Entertainment While the Rakashians practice a number of primitive sports, their main source of entertainment is from watching the planetwide Training, broadcast from Ras Orkto. The Training, as it is simply called, is the survival training of prospective spies on the harsh planet. Ras Orkto is a dangerous planet with both flora and fauna dead set on ending intelligent life on it. Prospective spies are merely given a black cloak, a pair of rightning gloves, and their wits. They must survive a full year above ground. As a result, the Training is streamed to a specific comm-link channel and many of those living on home worlds place bets on who will survive and other possible chances. However, it is rare for the Rakashians to open this part of their culture to foreigners, as it might raise suspicions about the true capabilities of the trained spies. Singing, Dancing, and Literature Rakashians have become a shrewd people, taking solace in their quick wits over strength. The race is traditionally very quick to learn new things such as languages but lack creative drive themselves if the pursuit doesn't involve rightning. Their own culture tends to revolve around the fascination with the reaction in some way, usually religious, scientific, or militaristic. Most song and dance they import from other cultures and even then, they do not find such activities terribly interesting. Literature, however, is a fascination that is quickly spreading through the population, both high and lowborn. Many Rakashian scientists and theologians are embracing text and attempting to document thoughts, theories, and discussions while a few would-be authors are even beginning to spring up. It has been difficult due to the Rakashian language lacking a traditional written form but an agreed upon written form is beginning to rise. It is estimated that within the next twenty years, written Rakashian will be known and understood by around 60% of the Rakashian populace. Demographics Territory The entirety of the Ras System is under the control of the Rakasha. It is a five planet system with a single star, Ras Iqi. Ras Utiku: The original home world of the Rakasha. Has fallen out of graces due to its scarred history of both the Civil Wars and the Plague of the Prideful. A small planet with a great deal of deserts. Home to the Grand Shrine to Rightning Rrrrrrivar. Seat of Magister Rrrrytik, a former merchant prince with blood traced back to the last Rakashian king. Ras Abiza: Current capital of the Rakasha. Home to the living quarters of the Council of Claws. A large planet with a great deal of biodiversity, such as tropics, taiga, and rainforests. Seat of Magister Rrrrolihf, son of the previous Magister of Ras Abiza. Ras Orkto: Home of the Spymaster and the Training. Incredibly dangerous swamp planet to live on or under. Filled with dangerous beasts and plants such as death bears and lilly-gants. Seat of Spymaster Rrrrevite, rumoured to have assassinated the previous Spymaster. Ras Oq'ito: An enormous gas giant that is filled with rasikium and raswst, the two key chemicals used to create rightning. While the other planets of the system have these materials, Ras Oq'ito has such a large supply that the Rakasha do not believe they are capable of exhausting it. In addition, its moon is also a source of valuable minerals, mainly for construction of buildings and supports for the underground cities of the home planets. Seat of CEO Rrrronniey, a former employee who was adopted by the former CEO so that the seat could pass by "blood". Ras Eyrire: An aquatic planet which is a valuable source of food for the Rakasha. Fish is another important trade good plus is a greatly desired food dish especially on the home planets. Seat of CEO Rrrrimmust, the son of the former High Master of Peace and suspected xenophiliac. Trivia Category:Nations